Premier, and Minister of Finance, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Honourable Dr. Natalio Wheatley has stated that there is a need for the active monitoring the Territory’s environment, its water quality and coral reefs.

Premier Wheatley while addressing the launch of the ‘Vigilate’, a vessel that will be used for water quality monitoring, urged representatives from various governmental and environmental non-profit organisations to embrace and commit to the journey of “being watchful” through enhanced monitoring and data gathering. This he said is to support better planning, management, enforcement and unlocking of solutions and the finance to implement them. 

The Premier said, “In this environment of increased threat, business as usual is a recipe for our demise. So, we must set about doing things differently. First, we must recognise that we cannot effectively respond to threats that we have not clearly understood, quantified and that we do not actively monitor. Moreover, we cannot ensure protection of our natural resources if we are not continuously studying, quantifying and better understanding what we have and how it is being impacted by the changes all around us.”

Premier Wheatley stated that lack of data about the environment is one of the greatest barriers to enhancing environmental management and protection and achieving sustainable development for the benefit of all.

The vessel was launched by the Government of the Virgin Islands in collaboration with the Resilience Sustainable Energy and Marine Biodiversity Programme (RESEMBID) Programme, which is funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France.        

Senior Programme Manager, Marine Biodiversity, Mr. Andrea Floudiotis said the project represents a major step forward in the ministry’s capacity to collect, warehouse, and analyse water quality data, and thus inform better environmental management and spatial planning decisions.

Mr. Floudiotis said, “This project will have tangible and long-lasting benefits for the ministry, its staff, and wider stakeholders. The project has strengthened the ministry’s capacity through the acquisition of this vessel, but also through specialised training on the methods and tools that will be used to maximise the utility of the data collection that the vessel will facilitate.”

Environment Officer and Project Coordinatior, Ms. Atoya Georgesaid there is a need to protect the Territory’s marine environment and was grateful for the partnership.

“Ms. George said, “Through the RESEMBID Programme, we have the opportunity to create a Water Quality Monitoring Programme that provides evidence to inform more sustainable spatial planning decisions and support no-regret approaches to socioeconomic and coastal development.”

Ms. George further stated that the project will address some major gaps within the current water quality monitoring programme as it relates to the institutional framework and limitations in human capacity and equipment and a well-established water quality data baseline for areas and parameters of concern.

RESEMBID is a 47-project progamme funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France - the development cooperation agency of the Government of France and supports sustainable human development efforts in 12 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) - Aruba, Anguilla, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Maarten and Turks and Caicos.

The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change envisions sound stewardship of our natural resources, and an established viable land and marine economic system by implementing a robust legal and policy framework that fosters sustainable best management practices.